Warning! Spoilers ahead for Future State: Superman of Metropolis #2 from Sean Lewis and John Timms
At the onset of the latest issue of Future State: Superman of Metropolis, things are not looking good for Jon Kent, the son of Superman. While he's taken on his father's mantle in the future of the DC Universe, it seems as though Jon has lot of fear about living up to Kal-El's legacy and keeping the city of Metropolis safe. This fear has also made him vulnerable to manipulation by Brain Cells, the spawn of the villain Brainiac. Now, having been tricked into shrinking down the city he was meant to protect, Brain Cells now unleashes a brand new attack on the son of Superman, sending a squad of Kal-El clones after him in this latest issue.
Thus far in DC's Future State, it's been revealed that Clark Kent has been essentially banished from Earth, forced to be the Man of Steel among the stars. In his absence, Jon Kent has taken his father's place as the new Superman, working alongside Supergirl to keep the world safe. However, Metropolis has recently fallen into turmoil at the start of Future State: Superman of Metropolis, which caused Jon some significant concern, especially considering the levels of darkness Gotham has fallen into in the future. Seizing onto Jon's uncertainty, Brain Cells takes advantage, and he motivates Jon to believe that the best way to keep Metropolis safe is to shrink the city down and preserve it from any and all harm.
Despite his lapse in judgment, Jon now realizes the error of his actions in this second issue from writer Sean Lewis and artist John Timms. He decides to fight back and save Metropolis from what he's done and from the villainy of Brain Cells. However, Brain Cells isn't about to give up without a fight, revealing his creation of faceless Kal-El clones, each of them representing a different Superman from a different point in time to stop Jon (while also tormenting him psychologically).
Despite Jon's comments that his therapy premiums are going to through the roof after facing multiple versions of his own father, the new Superman does emerge victorious. He defeats the entire group of false Men of Steel, much to Brain Cells' shock, who's always seen Jon as inferior to the original Superman. On top of that, this battle also forced Jon to face some hard truths and grow as hero. He faced his own insecurities and self-doubts, coming out the other side better for it, ready to forge his own path and create his own identity as his own Superman.
Once Metropolis was restored, Jon publicly announced to the city that he would be a better hero from that point on, owning the mistake he made. While the first Superman served the universe, Jon makes the commitment to serve as Metropolis' Superman, making them his primary concern and priority no matter what it takes. All things considered, fighting multiple versions of his father was the perfect conflict of symbolism for Jon to have, as the trial by fire molded him into a better Superman going forward in DC's Future State.